If you are a Singapore Citizen who already owns a home and you buy a second at S$2,000,000, the stamp duty comes to S$469,600. That figure is Buyer's Stamp Duty and Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty added together, using IRAS's rates as computed by the Truestorey calculator. Most of it is the additional duty, which is why so much planning goes into who holds the property.
- S$400,000 ABSD on that price as a second property (Singapore Citizen) rates effective 2023-04-27 · IRAS — Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty, computed by the Truestorey calculator
- S$69,600 Buyer’s Stamp Duty on that price rates effective 2023-02-15 · IRAS — Buyer’s Stamp Duty, computed by the Truestorey calculator
- S$469,600 Buyer’s Stamp Duty and second-property ABSD together worked example · Truestorey calculator
This is a worked example at one price, for Singapore Citizens only. It is not tax advice. On any real purchase, IRAS charges duty on the purchase price or the market value, whichever is higher. It also looks at every buyer's residency and the number of properties each one owns. Change any of those and the bill changes.
The additional duty is more than five times the ordinary duty
Every buyer pays Buyer's Stamp Duty. At S$2,000,000, it comes to S$69,600, under IRAS's rates effective 2023-02-15, as computed by the Truestorey calculator. That is the cost of buying any home at that price, whether it is your first or your fifth.
Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty sits on top. IRAS says liable buyers pay it on top of the existing Buyer's Stamp Duty. Both are worked out on the same base: the price in the dutiable document or the market value, whichever is higher.
For a Singapore Citizen buying a second residential property, IRAS sets the rate at 20%, effective 2023-04-27. At S$2,000,000, the Truestorey calculator puts that at S$400,000. Add the S$69,600 and you reach S$469,600.
For a third or later property, the rate rises to 30%. On the same price, that is S$600,000 in additional duty alone, half as much again as the second-property charge.
These amounts are not a comment on what any home is worth. They are simply what the rates produce at one price. They do not suggest whether buying makes sense.
Why some couples look at buying in one name
The size of the second-property charge is what leads some married couples to ask whether only one of them should appear on the title. The reasoning is simple. If one spouse owns no residential property, a purchase in that spouse's name alone would not be their second.
Whether that works depends entirely on how IRAS counts what each buyer owns. IRAS's own page leaves little room for assumption on this.
How does IRAS count a home you only partly own?
IRAS applies what it calls a full count for partial ownership and joint ownership. If a buyer owns any interest in a property, that property counts towards the number they own. It makes no difference whether the property is owned wholly, partially or jointly with others.
IRAS gives this example. A man who jointly owns a property with his wife, and also owns a 20% share of another property with his sibling, is counted as owning two properties. His small stake counts as fully as the home he lives in.
For a couple who bought their current home together, this matters. Each spouse holds an interest in it, so each is counted as owning one property. Putting the next purchase in either name alone does not, on its own, make it that person's first.
IRAS's worked answers show the same rule. In one, a buyer who already holds a partial interest in a property, plus another home, is treated as owning two. A condominium bought with their son is then the buyer's third property. Both pay additional duty at 30% on the full price or market value, whichever is higher, because that is the higher of the two buyers' profiles.
What happens when buyers with different profiles buy together
IRAS states that when two or more buyers of different profiles buy jointly, the highest applicable rate applies to the entire value of the property. The rate is not split between the buyers. The buyer who attracts the heaviest rate sets it for everyone on the purchase.
Take a Singapore Permanent Resident buying a first property. IRAS sets that rate at 5%. But if that person buys jointly with a Singapore Citizen who already owns a home, the Citizen's second-property rate of 20% is higher. That rate then applies to the whole price.
IRAS applies the same logic when several properties are bought in one contract. In its example, a Singapore Citizen who owns one residential property buys three properties in a single contract with a Permanent Resident who owns none. Each property is counted separately and treated as if bought under its own instrument. The rates on the three are 20%, 30% and 35% in turn.
IRAS also covers trusts. Where duty is remitted, the amount is based on the difference between the trust rate of 65% and the rate for the beneficial owner with the highest applicable rate.
When IRAS treats a home as yours, or no longer yours
Timing matters as much as names. IRAS counts a property as owned from the date an agreement to buy it is accepted, even if the purchase has not been legally completed. Signing is enough to add it to your count.
The same rule works the other way. A property is left out of a seller's count once there is a contract to sell it and the new buyer has executed it. So the order in which you sign to sell and sign to buy can change which rate applies.
IRAS also deals with buying out a co-owner. In one of its answers, a Singapore Citizen who owns only one residential property buys their mother's 80% share of that same home. IRAS says that would otherwise have counted as a second property. But because the buyer is taking an additional interest in a home they already partly own, from the co-owner, no additional duty is payable.
Separately, residential properties gazetted for compulsory acquisition are left out of the count altogether.
What to check before you commit
The S$469,600 figure is a starting point for a Singapore Citizen at one price. It is not an answer for your household. Before you sign anything, work through these points:
- Every buyer's count. List every residential interest each buyer holds, however small, including shares held with parents or siblings. IRAS counts them all in full.
- Every buyer's profile. If buyers differ in residency or in how many properties they own, the highest rate applies to the whole price.
- The base. Duty is charged on the price or the market value, whichever is higher. A lower agreed price does not cap the bill.
- The order of signing. IRAS dates ownership from the accepted agreement. When you sign to sell, compared with when you sign to buy, can change the rate.
- Any restructuring. If you are thinking about changing who holds your current home, ask IRAS or a tax adviser how that step is assessed, and what it costs, before relying on it.
To see how the duty changes with your own price and buyer profiles, use the Truestorey cost calculator. Then confirm the result against IRAS before you commit.
